Excellent game and series all around. The NBA needed this because the playoffs had too little theater up to this point. Like I said before, I can't stand bandwagoner Heat fans, but I have nothing but respect for the players including LeBron. Looks like we're headed for another dynasty. Sometimes I wish there was more parity in this sport. From the day training camp opens, you can count on one hand who the legit title contenders are. Even less this year due to injuries around the league.

So where do the Heat go from here? Any or all of the Big Three can opt out after next season.

I'm not much of an NBA fan (which is a shame since we have a good team in town with the Grizzlies), but I enjoyed the last two games of the series. I was a bit dismayed at the negative talk about Wade - from my somewhat detached point of view he seems to have proven his value and ability over the years. Haven't followed Lebron either, but he almost seems like someone took Magic Johnson and James Worthy from the old Lakers team and smashed them together. A great talent. It was certainly a series where both teams put forth their best and put on a show for fans and casual observers alike.

Mon Jun 24, 2013 9:23 am

PeachyPete

Cinematographer

Joined: Sun Oct 07, 2012 8:09 pmPosts: 644

Re: I Don't Know How Many Basketball Fans We Have Here, But...

CasualDad wrote:

I was a bit dismayed at the negative talk about Wade - from my somewhat detached point of view he seems to have proven his value and ability over the years.

Wade's certainly proved himself throughout his career, and is a no-brainer Hall of Famer whenever he decides to hang up his sneakers. The problem right now is, at this point in his career, his physical, athletic, almost reckless style is starting to catch up with him. He's into his 30s, and is smaller than most guys who play the way he does. His body is breaking down, and that's happened the past 2 years in the postseason, which limits his effectiveness. It's something that happens time and again with guys as they age in the NBA (see: Manu Ginobili) - they can't play the majority of an 82 game season at a high level and still be healthy for the playoffs. The Spurs mastered this by limiting the minutes of Ginobili, Duncan, and Parker A LOT throughout the course of the last 2 seasons. Hell, they'd even go so far as to sit them entire games just to get them some rest.

So, Wade's received a lot of (pardon the pun) heat for his play, even though the reason is perfectly justified and understandable. Unless Miami starts limiting his minutes, it's something that's probably only going to increase every postseason.

It should also be noted that 31 for Wade is a much older 31 than for virtually anyone else. Given the amount of success his teams have had he's played a whole lot of postseason games, and given his individual success (and placement on Olympic teams) he's not able to take every summer off and get the rest his body needs. All that playing, combined with his style of play, is inevitably going to lead to a loss of athleticism.

CasualDad wrote:

Haven't followed Lebron either, but he almost seems like someone took Magic Johnson and James Worthy from the old Lakers team and smashed them together.

I love this comparison. He's not quite as good as either in terms of what they did well, but he's a strong combination of what they both did well, which makes him more well-rounded than either.

It's really special when you can say someone is a more well-rounded player than Magic. He was about as versatile as it got.

Mon Jun 24, 2013 1:25 pm

Shade2

Second Unit Director

Joined: Fri Oct 12, 2012 2:49 amPosts: 456

Re: I Don't Know How Many Basketball Fans We Have Here, But...

I don't have much to say about the Finals, other than that while the Heat are deservedly knocked down a rung historically in terms of this individual year, Lebron is not. Is that fair, given that it kinda swings on a Ray Allen 3? Probably, but that's the nature of sports. Where things go from here will be VERY interesting.

Also, just to be really clear, as a KG fan, I'm all about him going to LA. And as some have already been saying, Blake Griffin and his inability to get better will be a lot more exposed without VDN to draw the criticism to himself. A guy like KG is probably exactly what Griff needs.

Also, thought you guys would appreciate this. Be prepared to have your mind blown a little:

And I mean, it's a more exciting year than last year, and maybe in a few years. So much to talk about!

First, would you bet the Heat or the field right now? I'd lean toward the Moheatos, still, but it's a close bet. I still think Lebron changes any game so much more than anyone else in the game right now. But Wade ain't getting younger, and Bosh ain't getting good. So we'll see.

Things I'm pretty sure about:

--The Knicks are not good. They'll make the playoffs because it's a weaker conference, but they are worse than last year. You CAN win a title if Melo is your best player, but it would take a special team, and this is not it.

--The Spurs are still very good. Belinelli was a sneaky-good signing.

--OKC isn't good enough. They bet on some of the wrong players. I know I'm not the first to say this, but I think both K-Dud and Westbrook are leaving as soon as they can. The organization is not run with any sort of plan and they see that now.

--The Nyets will have a very good record. They just won't lose a lot of games in a row. If they manage the minutes of the old guys, they'll be good enough to beat Miami in a series.

--The Bulls will be a top-2 seed at worst. But they won't seriously sniff the title. They play too hard all season long and are not built to win a series against a star.

--The Cavs will be exciting, but Kyrie (who I LOVE) needs to learn to be a better teammate. Right now he plays like an entitled star too often. To be a great leader, especially at the point, you need to take the blame even when you don't actually deserve it. Kyrie didn't have that maturity last year. Does he now?

--The Warriors can win the West, which is a deeper conference but not as defined at the top. And in the Finals, with Iggy, they could beat Miami if they got hot. But they need to play better D than they did last night, clearly.

--On a related note, Iggy has somehow only made All-League Defense team once (and that was the 2nd team!). But I think he's still the best wing defender in the game. I haven't researched this, but has anyone ever jumped from not being a 1st-Team All-Defense to DPOY? I'd love to see it.

Things I have no clue about:

--How good the Pistons are.

--If Dwight has two great/nearly great years left. Look, I don't like Dwight. No one does. But he was in a terrible situation for who he is last year. It's a lot like Adrian Gonzalez in Boston, who left and went to Detroit and went right back to being dominant. So that could happen for Dwight in a situation that is the right feel for him. I'd almost bet on it, but who knows?

--If Minny can be good consistently. I love them. As fun as anyone to watch when they're good. At their best they could beat a higher seed in the first round. But K-Love is probably leaving soon, Rubio may never stay healthy, and they might never have a great GM. But I mean, they played like 8 games with their starters last year! I'm giving them some time.

And a major question: how good is Derrick Rose? Are we sure he makes guys better? He doesn't shoot well, doesn't rebound at all, and can't guard the ball well at all (he's pretty great as a help defender, though). He needs to shoot a lot to score. It's not fair to compare anyone to CP3, but can you imagine Rose having anything resembling a 42/15 stat line on 20 shots? I'm honestly not trying to hate on him, I'm really asking: is he a great player? Or do we just like the way he plays? And I know you guys haven't, but have all the pundits forgotten that Bron totally shut down Rose in the playoffs when they faced off?

Fri Nov 01, 2013 2:50 pm

Steven

Second Unit Director

Joined: Tue Sep 24, 2013 11:29 amPosts: 325Location: Watertown, SD

Re: I Don't Know How Many Basketball Fans We Have Here, But...

Shade2 wrote:

If Minny can be good consistently. I love them. As fun as anyone to watch when they're good. At their best they could beat a higher seed in the first round. But K-Love is probably leaving soon, Rubio may never stay healthy, and they might never have a great GM. But I mean, they played like 8 games with their starters last year! I'm giving them some time.

God, I hope that my Wolves can stay healthy this year. Every year starts with me saying, "This is the year. We're making the playoffs this time around." Then a couple weeks into the season we're playing games with less than 10 people suited up.

But I feel like we really have the potential to be good this year. I'd love to see us give a high seed a long series in the first round of the playoffs.

So you have Love leaving, Durant and Westbrook leaving, hmmmmmm, do I sense a Future Big Three somewhere?

No way. Durant and Westbrook don't like each other, AND they don't make sense together basketball-wise. You can have one of those things, but not both. Durant could definitely end up in Houston or Miami (but only the latter if Bron leaves). K-Love and Westbrook end up on the Lakers, I'm betting.

KWRoss wrote:

Also, the fact that Wade had to rest in just the second game of the season for sore knees sets off some alarm bells. If he's no healthier than he was last year, the Heat could be vulnerable.

Eh, not yet. He looked fine in the first two games for this stage of his career. He's not hurt, he's just taking a night off in what will be a touch, physical game. It's how the NBA works now... resting Duncan/Manu for no real reason at times probably got the Spurs to the Finals.

KWRoss wrote:

And finally, we're only two games in. My Bulls have all the time in the world to gel before the playoffs start.

Do they really need to gel? What's different about them, even from the last time Rose played? Again, they play TOO hard in the wrong ways at the wrong times, and they seriously downgraded their tall white shooter, but they kindof are what they are. They played incredibly tough against Miami in the playoffs last year, but also astonishingly stupid. They will eventually turn on Thibs -- unless you believe he's the next Popovich, every coach like him gets turned on at some point. And who knows when that will be.

It sounds like I'm hating on them, and really, I'm not trying to. I just don't get how they're a serious threat to Miami right now.

Fri Nov 01, 2013 8:12 pm

KWRoss

Director

Joined: Sun Nov 18, 2012 2:37 amPosts: 1180Location: Laurel, MD

Re: I Don't Know How Many Basketball Fans We Have Here, But...

FUCK SHIT PISS MOTHERFUCKER!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry, just letting it all out after the latest D-Rose knee injury. FML. He's on his way to becoming the next Tracy McGrady or Grant Hill. So mad, so mad......

OR...if he decides to take a shit in Andray Blatche's shoes and treat an NBA locker room like a wild west saloon, the next Gilbert Arenas!

I believe I speak for everyone in the MD/DC/VA area when I say "FUCK GILBERT." That's a comparison no one wants.

Haha, indeed.

Seriously though, it sucks for Rose (and Bulls fans). I feel for the kid. He seems like someone who genuinely cares about winning. His game is so predicated on his elite athleticism that it's tough to envision him coming back and being anything resembling what he was. It just sucks, there's no other way to put it.

Mon Nov 25, 2013 4:16 pm

calvero

Director

Joined: Wed Mar 04, 2009 7:44 pmPosts: 1404

Re: I Don't Know How Many Basketball Fans We Have Here, But...

just heard that prior to today(Clippers) the 15-1 Pacers hadn't played a team with a winning record yet this year. wow. so many crappy teams(like apparently the entire Atlantic division)

Sun Dec 01, 2013 9:12 pm

PeachyPete

Cinematographer

Joined: Sun Oct 07, 2012 8:09 pmPosts: 644

Re: I Don't Know How Many Basketball Fans We Have Here, But...

calvero wrote:

just heard that prior to today(Clippers) the 15-1 Pacers hadn't played a team with a winning record yet this year. wow. so many crappy teams(like apparently the entire Atlantic division)

Yeah, it's kind of crazy. I mean, look at the Eastern conference. My Wizards are currently the 3 seed, and they just reached .500 last night. The rest of the entire conference is below .500. It's just absurd. The Wizards would currently be 11th in the West!

We knew going in to the season some teams were going to be bad (76ers, Magic, Celtics), but teams like the Nets, Knicks, and Bucks were all supposed to be trying to be, at the very least, playoff teams. The Nets and Knicks thought themselves legitimate contenders! People will say it's still early and that nothing matters in the NBA before Christmas, but the Knicks are done. They very much overachieved last year, got considerably worse this offseason, and then the Tyson Chandler injury pretty much wiped out any shot at relevancy they had this season. The Nets have slightly more hope, but Jason Kidd has made it apparent he has no business being a head coach this fast. Plus, teams acquiring aging (and plain old in this case) vets for one big run has shown time and again to be a losing strategy, in virtually all sports.

Tue Dec 03, 2013 1:06 pm

KWRoss

Director

Joined: Sun Nov 18, 2012 2:37 amPosts: 1180Location: Laurel, MD

Re: I Don't Know How Many Basketball Fans We Have Here, But...

Welp, my Bulls are giving up on the season, and that's probably for the best. Waive Bynum and amnesty Boozer after the year, create cap space, and use that lottery pick to hopefully have a short retooling process rather than a long one.

Welp, my Bulls are giving up on the season, and that's probably for the best. Waive Bynum and amnesty Boozer after the year, create cap space, and use that lottery pick to hopefully have a short retooling process rather than a long one.

It's definitely their best move. What's the point of being a 5 or 6 seed without Rose? They can't win a title like that, or even realistically compete from one. They'd be lucky to make it to the second round. Now, they have a shot at getting Rose back (granted, he might never be the same, but we can hope, right?) to go along with a lottery pick in a loaded draft and a ton of cap space. And, you know, they already have a really solid team. I think it's a great move, assuming they do amnesty Boozer.

Really, the only thing to worry about now is that they'll still manage to make the playoffs because the East is so damned awful. I think guys like Noah and Butler will be missing some time here shortly with some mysterious injuries. Let the tanking begin!

Wed Jan 08, 2014 4:53 pm

KWRoss

Director

Joined: Sun Nov 18, 2012 2:37 amPosts: 1180Location: Laurel, MD

Re: I Don't Know How Many Basketball Fans We Have Here, But...

And on top of all that, Golden State is interested in acquiring Kirk Hinrich. It's Tank-a-palooza!

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